Family History News and Views from Lisa Louise Cooke, host of The Genealogy Gems Podcast at www.GenealogyGems.com

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

WDYTYA TV Guest Appearances & Tips

Just got word from Ancestry that the new TV show Who Do You Think You Are? will be promoted on a variety of talk shows in the coming weeks. (Unfortunately they didn't indicate who would be appearing - likely Lisa Kudrow, possibly some of the celebs featured on the series)

Here's a list of a few shows to watch for (all dates/times are subject to change):

Episode Schedule
In case you're curious about the celebrity line up and timing for the episodes, here is the current schedule according to NBC:

March 5 - Sarah Jessica Parker

March 12 - Emmitt Smith

March 19 - Lisa Kudrow

March 26 - Matthew Broderick

April 2 - Brooke Shields

April 9 - Susan Sarandon

April 23 - Spike Lee

Also in their email, Ancestry included a survey asking for feedback on their promotional campaign for the show. One question in particular caught my eye. They asked what other types of material they could have distributed to generate interest in addition to the poster and wallpaper on their "spread the word" webpage.

What has stood out to me as missing from the the materials was a "Getting Started" how-to worksheet. We all hope that the series will generate tremendous interest among non-genealogists, and a worksheet helping them take the first steps in the process would be a great offering.

The official WDYTYA website has one overview article, and a place to enter a name which takes you to Ancestry. But, a site such as the National Archives "About Genealogy Research" would be a great link as well. Perhaps Ancestry could partner with the National Archives to make a one page step-by-step "Getting Started" available on the WDYTYA site, and as a handout that could be emailed to friends and family.

Tip: If your non-genealogist friends or family members catch a bit of the bug while watching the series, encourage them to take a listen to the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast. It's free, and will walk them step by step through the research process. I created it specifically with newbies in mind!

What ideas do you have for not only getting the word out, but for helping excited non-genealogists take those first baby steps?